Living Islam in the diaspora: between Turkey and Germany

Sociological Forum, 2014

Poligrafi 85/86 (2017): 131-153. The issue Islam and Democracy is available at: http://www.zrs-kp.si/revije/single/poligrafi-85-86-islam-and-democracy-2271 The sphere of religion underwent significant changes during the course of the 20th century. Among those, the one that left the biggest impact was secularisation. It is possible for us to state that while the process of secularisation certainly took place, that alone does not imply that religion will disappear but rather indicates the dissolution of the monopoly over the choice regarding the final significance. The new interpretation of subjectivisation as well as the new relation between the mundane and the cosmic is causing a major stirrup in the domain of religion. These tensions started to become strained after the fall of the Iron Curtain and after the increase of the importance of »The Clash of Civilisations« between the East and the West. A careful analysis proves that people practising »traditional« religion in the West have more in common with the fundamentalists from the East than they do with those practising »modern« religion in the West. There is, therefore, an apparent rift in the society. It has been labelled »The Clash of Civilisations « although it should probably be classified as »The Clash of Fundamentalisms.« Keywords: secularisation, fundamentalism, construction of the Other, identity of the West, religious violence.

The reason for the Western biases against the modern, western, and democratic part of the Turkish establishment is to be found in the strengths of Turkey, a vast country with great periphery (from the Balkans to Central Asia and from the Middle East to Africa) and even greater potentialities. Originally published in AfroArticles, American Chronicle, and Buzzle on 23rd May 2007 http://www.buzzle.com/articles/western-biases-against-non-extremist-muslims-and-the-west-sinister-end.html Republished in: http://womensapparelhub.blogspot.com/2007/08/western-biases-against-non-extremist.html

Culture and Religion, 2015

Journal of Muslims in Europe, 2013

This article examines one of several ways in which the Muslim presence in Europe is discussed or justified in Islamic terms. It mainly analyses the position of those scholars, some of them close to the Muslim Brotherhood (like Al-Qaradawi and Mawlawi), who have claimed that not only can Muslims live in Western Europe, but that they should live there. In fact, according to them Europe is a context in need of Muslims and that Muslims need it too: Europe needs the moral example Muslims can set there and Muslims need Europe in order to spread Islam. In this light, the presence of Muslims in Europe is both legitimate and necessary, and their absence unthinkable. This article is the result of an examination of particular essays and edicts which Sunni Arab Muslim scholars have contributed to the debate surrounding Muslim minorities in Europe, published between the years 1960-2000.

Unpublished Paper, 2012

This article compares American and European policy discourses and practices towards 'Islam' as a religion and the 'Muslim world' as a specific religious-defined category of countries and peoples in world politics. In the European case, we explore the policies of EU institutions as well as two key European countries with important international roles such as the U.K. and France. This comparative analysis reveals that there are multiple and conflicting approaches to 'Islam' across the American and European (EU, British, and French) cases. We argue that the variety of approaches observed is rooted in diverse understandings – based on different American, EU, British, and French identities, geopolitics, power resources, and security interests – of what 'Islam' and the 'Muslim world' are. This article investigates and compares American and European foreign policy discourses and practices towards 'Islam' and the 'Muslim world'. To be clear, we do not investigate counter terrorism policies in any particular detail. Nor are we interested in unpacking American and European approaches to specific countries or Islamist movements (whether violent or non violent) within or beyond the Middle East. We are instead interested in policies which have come to be increasingly and explicitly designed to address and target 'Islam', as a particular world religion, and the 'Muslim world', as a set of countries that cuts across continents and a category of people which transcends national borders identified primarily by their particular religious identity. In particular this article starts from the premise that following the attacks of 9/11 the American foreign policy establishment has developed a range of policies and institutions organized around the notion that 'Islam' and the 'Muslim world' are

Religions, 2014

Contemporary Islam, 2010

This paper examines the Islamische Zeitung (IZ), a newspaper made by German Muslims for German Muslims that informs about political, cultural, and theological topics. I argue that beyond providing information, the paper aims to create a platform of debate for a growing group of, in particular, younger pious educated Muslims who examine current politics by way of an Islamic and also an anti-globalization perspective. Of relevance for this audience are Islamic knowledge, local and global politics, everyday religious concerns and practices, and cultural affairs. I illustrate how by discussing certain topics on its pages, the makers of the IZ support specific issues of debates among some pious individuals, such as for example the participation of pious Muslims (men and women) in the democratic process by way of running in elections. Finally I argue that the IZ seeks to link the German Muslim community to the context of the global ummah and here in particular the globalized ummah as a new community marked by a shared popular culture universe. I illustrate that contrary to the claims of some of its opponents, the IZ is a platform for German Muslim affairs that participates in the broader public sphere as much as it helps to mediate a variety of possibilities for the participation of individuals and communities.